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LAWRENCE — Dwight D. Eisenhower, a personal hero of Bob Dole, will be the subject of the annual Dole Lecture, titled “Ike’s Legacy.”

Brig. Gen. Carl Reddel (Ret.), executive director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, will discuss the life and legacy of America’s 34th president at 7:30 p.m. May 2 at the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. The event is free and open to the public.

“A couple years ago we did a program about Ike being included on a modern-day Mount Rushmore. A program focusing on Ike’s life and the memorial commissioned by Congress to honor him will be a great followup,” Dole Institute Director Bill Lacy said. “Ike’s legacy certainly speaks for itself, and I think the community, as Kansans, will be interested in learning more about this great man and what is being done to preserve his legacy.”

Reddel is the former chair of the history department at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

He is a specialist in Russian studies and a trained historian. He began his work with the Eisenhower Memorial Commission in 2001 while he was Public Service Fellow in the Center for Public Service at Gettysburg College. During 1999-2000, he was president and CEO of the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute in Washington, D.C.

He has studied at the Institute for the Study of the U.S.S.R., Munich, and undertaken research at the U.S. Army Russian Institute Garmisch, both in Germany, and at Moscow State University, Moscow. He received a bachelor's degree at Drake University, a master's degree at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a doctorate from Indiana University.

“Given the recent debate regarding the design of the Eisenhower Memorial, General Reddell’s discussion is an excellent opportunity for Kansans to learn straight from the source about the memorial itself, and the process of designing and building a national memorial,” Lacy said.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission is a bipartisan commission created by Congress. The commission is charged with establishing a national, permanent memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower to perpetuate his memory and his contributions, specifically his service as supreme commander of Allied Forces in World War II and as 34th U.S. president.

On April 14, 1945, Bob Dole was gravely wounded during a WWII battle in Italy. Each spring, on or near April 14, the Dole Institute of Politics hosts The Dole Lecture, a signature event featuring a person or topic addressing some aspect of contemporary politics or policy. Previous Dole Lectures have featured Bill Clinton, Tom Brokaw, Bob Woodward, Sheila Bair and senators Tom Daschle and George Mitchell.

The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. The university's mission
is to lift students and society by educating leaders, building healthy communities and making discoveries
that change the world. The KU News Service is the central public relations office for the Lawrence campus.